78th Fighter Group

Group

From left to right: Captain Walker L. Boone, Flight Officer Manuel S. Martinez and Flight Officer Gerry E. Brasher, pilots of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, sit on the bonnet of a Dodge WC (weapons carrier) at Duxford air base. Passed for publication 28 October 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Thunderbolts - the "Guardian Angels" of Flying Fortresses. Here are pictures of Thunderbolts P-47s, the famous American fighter planes, which escort Flying Fortresses on their daylight missions over Occupied Europe. Photo shows:- All set to go: Parked on the hood of their command car which is to take them to their waiting Thunderbolts are L to R: Walker L. BOONE, Wyandotte, Oklahoma, Flight Officer Manuel S. MARTINEZ, Mount Kisco, N.Y., and Flight Officer J.E. BRASHER, Roswell, New Mexico. A few minutes after this picture was snapped they were in the air on their bomber-escort mission into Germany. U.S. Pool/SG/H. Keystone 65.'

First Lieutenant Earl L. Stier of the 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, surveys the damage to his aircraft at Duxford air base. Half the rudder was shot away when he was hit by flak on the recent mission. 1945.

First Lieutenant Quince L. Brown of the 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, with P-47 Thunderbolt (WZ-J, serial number 42-74753) probably at Duxford air base. 1943-1944. Printed caption on reverse of print: '50203 USAF - Europe - First man in the European theatre to destroy four German planes on one day while flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter is 1/Lt. Quince L. Brown, Jr. of Bristow, Okla. He is pictured here with his dog, right next to his plane insignia "OKIE". For 19 long months a flight instructor at Randolph and Kelly Fields, in Texas, Brown has now shot down 10 Jerries since beginning his combat tour in England, five of them in the past two days. On Thursday, 16 March, he destroyed two Messerschmitt 109s and a Focke-Wulf 190 in a terrific air battle, and set a JU 88 blazing on the ground. The previous day he had "warmed up" his guns by destroying a Me 109. On Thursday's mission he also damaged two unidentified planes on the ground. Also to his combat credit are a locomotive and a flak tower. He holds the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the DFC with one cluster.'

Line up of P-47 Thunderbolts of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, at Duxford air base. September 1944. Printed caption on reverse of print: '55432 AC - War Birds Home To Rest - Republic P-47 Thunderbolts lined up on an 8th Air Force field in England after a daylight sweep over Germany. Crews have finished inspections and refueling.'

Left to right: Crew Chief Staff Sergeant James O. Tolleson and pilot Second Lieutenant Louis De Anda, of the 78th Fighter Group, inspect the damage to their P-51 Mustang at Duxford air base. February 1945. Printed caption on reverse of print: 'EA 52913 PRO-HQ'45 Flak Holed Fighter Hit Over German Rail Yards - "That's where they hit my plane", Second Lieutenant Louis De Anda, (right) of East Bakerfield, Calif. is saying as he points out where flak tore through the side of his U.S. Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustang to Staff Sergeant James O. Tolleson, maintenance crew chief from Inman, S. Carolina. Lt. De Anda had just blown up an oil car on a train believed to be carrying V-2 parts when flak put up by German ground defenses crashed through the tail of his plane fuselage. The 78th Fighter Group, Lt. De Anda's group, escorted heavy bombers on the second day of the all-out onslaught against German transportation on February 23rd.'

Lieutenant-Colonel Jack S. Jenkins, of the 55th Fighter Group, and James J. Stone, of the 78th Fighter Group, stand in front of P-47 Thunderbolt. A P-38 Lightning (CY-?) of the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group is in the background.

No. 183 Mobile Training Unit of the Army Air Force Western Technical Training Command, part of the U.S. Army Air Forces Training Command, parked up in the snow in front of one of the hangars at Duxford air base. Men of the 78th Fighter Group stand beside the vehicle. 1943-1945.

The 78th Fighter Group was initially based at Goxhill but moved to Duxford in April 1943 and stayed there until October 1945. It flew all three of the USAAF's principal fighters. On D-Day every available Thunderbolt provided air cover to the Allied invasion fleet as it crossed the Channel. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for their missions in support of airborne forces in Holland, between 16-23 September 1944. The second was awarded for successfully ground strafing aircraft on five airfields near Prague and Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 16 April 1945.

Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer | 78th Fighter Group78th FG 84FS. Col Arman Peterson, came from Flagstaff, Arizona, and called his Thunderbolt “Flagari”. He was the first CO of 78th Fighter Group at Duxford and was killed in action 1st July 1943 on the day the group had destroyed four FW 190s, and...

Military | Brigadier General | Commanding Officer | 78th Fighter GroupFrederic C. Gray was born in 1911 near Palestine, Texas. He attended Rising Star High School and graduated in 1931 from Abilene Christian College with a bachelor of arts degree.
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Missions

8 April 194323 P-47s fly a Rodeo (offensive fighter sweep over enemy territory) between Dunkirk, France and Sangatte, France. 4FG (7); 56FG (4); and 78FG (12). There are no losses or claims. While the 4FG has been flying operations since 2-Oct-43, this is the...

13 April 1943A combined force of 36 P-47s are depatched on a diversion for RAF Ramrod 50. A "Ramrod" is a short range (medium) bomber mission against ground targets. 4FG (20); 56FG (4); 78FG (12). Even though 78FG had participated in a Rodeo on 8-Apr-43, this...

13 April 1943A combined force of 36 P-47s are depatched on a diversion for RAF Ramrod 50. A "Ramrod" is a short range (medium) bomber mission against ground targets. 4FG (20); 56FG (4); 78FG (12). Even though 78FG had participated in a Rodeo on 8-Apr-43, this...

15 April 1943A combined fighter force of 59 P-47s despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG participate in RAF Rodeo 204, a sweep of the Furnes/St.Omer area of France. Number contributed by each Fighter Group was not recorded in the source data. 4FG has 3 aircraft MIA,...

17 April 1943Two fighter operations are conducted on this date: a combined force of 81 P-47s is despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG to perform sweeps in the Blankenburge/Bruges/Flushing area in support of RAF Rodeo 205. There are no losses or claims; 59 P-47s are...

17 April 1943Two fighter operations are conducted on this date: a combined force of 81 P-47s is despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG to perform sweeps in the Blankenburge/Bruges/Flushing area in support of RAF Rodeo 205. There are no losses or claims; 59 P-47s are...

21 April 1943A combined force of 82 P-47s from 4FG, 56FG & 78FG fly high altitude sweeps over the Westhoofd/Noordwijk/The Hague area. No losses or claims. These operations are not drawing up the Luftwaffe.

29 April 1943A combined force of 112 P-47s are despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG to arry out high altitude sweeps of the Pas-de-Calaise/Hague area in support of RAF Rodeo 211. This is the first time that fighters from 56FG have encountered enemy fighters. 56FG has...

3 May 1943A combined force of 118 P-47s are despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG to make a fighter sweep of the Walcheren Island/Knokke/Ostend/Nieuport area. No enemy aircraft are sighted and there are no losses of claims. The Luftwaffe is simply not taking the bait.

4 May 1943A combined force of 117 P-47s is despatched from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG to perform a sweep along the Belgium coast in support of the bomber mission. 1 P-47 is lost due to engine failure. The pilot is seen to bale out over the sea, but his parachute fails...

Military | Captain | Pilot | 78th Fighter GroupRobert Adamina served as a pilot with the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group. He was shot down on 14 May 1943 in P-47C (serial number 41-6198). He became involved in a dogfight with FW190's in support of B-17s. He came down in North Sea near...

Aircraft

P-47 ThunderboltP-47C-2-RE 41-6240 [WZ:E] was assigned to the 78FG/84FS at Duxford, UK. On 18-Oct-43 the aircraft, piloted by 2LT Frankin B. Resseguie, was despatched with other fighters from his group to provide escort to B-17 bombers planned to attack at Duren,...

P-38 LightningP-38F 41-7566 78FG/83FS was being transferred to Tafaroui, Algeria from Portreath, UK on 26-Jan-43 by 2Lt Donald S. Beals. He was flying with a flight of 8 others. The flight was to make a stop at Gibraltar but only 6 arrived. No traces of Lt. Beals'...

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / The Mighty Eighth. A History of the Units, Men and Machines of the US 8th Air Force.' by Roger A. Freeman (1989). 'Air Force Combat Units of World War II' compiled by the Department of the US Air Force, edited by Maurice Maurer (1983). / Units in the UK from ETOUSA Station List, as transcribed by Lt. Col. Philip Grinton (US Army, Retired) and extracted by IWM; air division data from L.D. Underwood, based on the 8th Air Force Strength Report of 6th August 1944, as published in 'The 8th Air Force Yearbook' by Lt. Col. John H Woolnough (1980)